This "pano" shot is of the back section of the house. It is hard to tell but it is about 700 square feet. We have painfully watched this area go in all summer since it needed to be hand excavated and the front of the house where I am standing needed to be complete. This way everything could be built at the right level and tie in seamlessly.
The walls to the left and to the back will get upper level windows to allow light and air but not a view. The wall to the right will have lower windows for the kitchen and living areas. We placed them a bit above the normal room height to give the neighbors some privacy in their backyard. Hopefully if they feel like we are not peering into their lives everyday they won't build their wall up over our windows. No set backs here on the sides of the property. Set backs only to the front and to the back. It is risk you take building like this so we have tried to focus designing the house to the interior vs designing to the exterior and a view that could be covered up by the neighbor at some point.
The house front has been pretty much the same for weeks as the back of the house catches up.
The four corners.
The interior courtyard corner. Will be open to the sky but have some sort of polycarbonate roof structure to protect from rain and provide security. There will be stair access to the rooftop as well.
The living area corner.
The kitchen corner.
The dining area corner. This area was to be the living area but we had to bump the house in about 5 feet or so to protect the tree. The wall being built actually does not sit on a footing but more of a reinforced beam to allow the tree roots to remain undisturbed.
View down the hall to what will be a large front window to allow air flow and bring in light. Opening for stairs from front door. At the end of the hall to the right will be the master bedroom.
Future view from kitchen/living area looking right. Ashley loves the view of the rebar tree. Very common here.
Ashley and I had considered pushing the project up to a 4th level if the price was right. With the exchange rate having gone down and the cost of materials going up it wasn't and would be pushing some of the zoning rules so we decided against it. What we did decide on was to someday create a rooftop patio using materials that are allowed per zoning. A "temporary" roof trellis made from concrete posts and wood or metal support rafters to support another clear polycarbonate rooftop. Many rooftop patios have this and it provide extra room, protection from the elements, is economical and is considered "temporary". Our laundry room will also be on the 4th level and be the only real permanent structure up there. Hopefully zoning will let is slide since it is a utility room and not living space. The 4th level will be accessed from a stair case winding it's way up from the interior courtyard to this view. Nice! This why we bought this lot almost 11 years ago and be hard for the neighbor to block with any new construction...but you never know.
Our contractor says they will be prepping for forming up the roof by the end of the month and that some of the lower rooms will begin to be finished. With the heavy rains we get this time of year it is hard to keep working on finishes with no real roof on. Got to get out of this rental house by December 1. Stress level rising.
For reference. The living room and dining rooms are now switched.
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